At my "real" job in the web world, I host Talk Sessions twice a week during lunch. The Tuesday group is my upper-intermediate/advanced level, and my Thursday group is my pre-intermediate/intermediate group. Both groups do similar exercises but at their own level which I think is particularly cool from a teacher's perspective because it cuts down on planning time. This is something that I always strive to do -- find one central topic that can be expanded or reduced depending on the level. It was the same strategy I used when teaching little kids and it adapted very nicely to adults.
A few weeks ago, I came across some silly riddles on the internet, sort of "Whodunnit?" kind of scenarios. The answers were always the most ridiculous yet obvious scenario imaginable, but before they found the answers/were given the answers, they spent a lot of time talking it out using language for putting forth an idea, making a suggestion, agreeing and disagreeing, and dispelling each other's ideas based on the facts. I found it to be a constructive lesson because we were able to use a wide range of vocabulary and expressions and in the end everybody was laughing. As I've said before, laughter is a key element and because these are "talk" sessions, they are meant to be fun.
I found them online.. not sure who to credit because variations of them exist everywhere. I'll just make it clear that I didn't invent any of these scenarios, but I did very much enjoy using them.
Without further ado...
1. A man
in a lift
A man lives
on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to
the
ground
floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to
the
seventh
floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He
hates walking
so why does
he do it?
02. A man
walks into a bar
A man walks
into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun
and
points it
at the man. The man says thank you and leaves. Why?
03. Dead
man in a field
A man is
lying dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There aren’t
any
animals in
the field. How did he die?
04. Anthony and Cleopatra
Anthony and
Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt. Nearby is a broken
bowl. There
is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they
die?
05. A
carrot, some coal and a scarf
Five pieces
of coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the
lawn but
there is a perfectly logical reason why they are there. What is it?
06. Two
sons
A woman had
two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same
year. But
they were not twins. How could this be possible?
07. A woman pushing a car
A woman was
pushing her car. She stopped pushing when she reached a hotel and then
realized
she was bankrupt. Why?
08. Heaven
A man died
and went to Heaven. He saw thousands of people there all naked and young. He
saw
a couple
and he immediately recognized them as Adam and Eve. How did he know?
09. Friday
A man rode
into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday.
Explain.
10. Manhole covers
Why is it
better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
11. Sudden realization
A man was
walking downstairs in a building when the lights went out. Suddenly he realised
that
his wife
had just died. How?
12. The
blind beggar
A blind
beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the
brother who
died?
(Brother is not the answer).
13. Another dead body
The
dead body of a man was found in the
middle of a burnt forest. He was wearing only
swimming
trunks, a snorkel and diving mask. What had happened?
14. Mystery suicide
One stormy
night, a person switches on the TV and watches the news. The person leaves the
room in a
rush, runs up the stairs and turns on the light. Then the person commits
suicide. Why?
